NFL Hall of Fame Inductees, Class of 2001

Aug. 4 -- Patience was never a more virtuous commodity on display than it was here this afternoon. The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted seven members who totaled 101 seasons of contributions to the NFL, but who waited an aggregate 93 years for acceptance into a fraternity that honors only the most elite performers.

Patience and, of course, an industrial-sized dose of humility as well.

"Every year, when the call came telling me that I hadn't made it into the Hall, it was a humbling experience," said former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Lynn Swann, who had been eligible for consideration since 1987 and been a 14-time finalist. "But getting into the Hall of Fame, now being a part of this and seeing the caliber of person that you have to be for induction, that's even more humbling. Let me tell you, and I might not have always felt this way before, but the wait to get here was worth it."

Patience Runs the Field

Indeed, if there was a common thread woven into the rich football tapestries brought here by all seven new members — beyond their collective brilliance on the field and the sideline, and their grace away from the arena — it was patience each man exhibited when it appeared that he might never fulfill the game's greatest dream. By unofficial count, it was the longest collective waiting period for any Hall of Fame class in the last 30 years.

When that patience finally received the ultimate reward here this weekend, it manifested itself in passion, emotion, relief and a sense of accomplishment.

"People would always say to me, 'Don't worry, Jack, they'll put you in next year,' " said former Rams defensive end Jack Youngblood. "But then next year came, and it was the same thing. And it gets to a point where you kind of give up hope. You wonder if you belong. Well, next year did finally come and I guess I belonged, huh?"

There is always a degree of politicking involved in the Hall of Fame selection process, with the members of the selection committee occasionally and subconsciously swayed by factors beyond the obvious. The debate over Swann's worthiness for induction, given that his career spanned just nine seasons and that his statistics outside of four Super Bowl victories are fairly pedestrian, was particularly fierce at times.